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Friday, December 2, 2011

TOS Review Pitsco Review

I love to build things. Small things, big things, crafty things, and useful things. It really doesn't matter what, I just love putting things together. When we can combine school and building things it's a win-win situation!!

The TOS Crew was fortunate to review some items for Pitsco. We received the Siege Machines pack from Pitsco and it is AWESOME! The pack included a kit for a trebuchet and a catapult. Everything we needed was included with directions that were easy to follow. The kit sells for $21.95 and is well worth it.

We waited until we had plenty of time to build these siege machines but we only got to one of them. We started with the trebuchet and when it was built the kids were having too much fun to stop playing and build the catapult! The catapult will be built on Christmas vacation and I am sure that I will be dodging flying objects for quite a while.

When we started building this we cleared a space on the floor and we all gathered 'round. The instructions were well written and easy to use. I do wish that the pictures were a little easier to see-some were too dark and hard to see the details. But, that was easy to overcome from the descriptions.

We laid out our pieces, found our super glue, and got started. Before anything could be put together, the kids reminded everyone that Mom wasn't allowed to use the super glue. Man, one time of gluing my fingers together and they never let me forget it. When that statement was out of the way, Dad took charge of the super glue and I was in charge of the instructions.

After the pieces were laid out, we started the figuring it out. Once we identified the correct pieces for the right steps we were on our way!

It started coming together pretty quickly and we were encouraged with our progress. It was really starting to look like the picture. lol

Then the instructions said to cut notches in two of the small pieces of wood. hmm...these kits should be used with adult supervision, by the way. As you can see, Dad did the notching at our house.

Notches were made, the arm was attached and we really started getting excited. Not too much more and we would be able to test it out.

We had a little trouble bending the paper clip the right way but once we figured it out, we were ready to test out our trebuchet.

See the purple sling on the left side of the picture? That is where our clay cannon ball was before it launched across the room! It was SO COOL!! We all jumped with excitement and did it over and over again.

This is such a neat kit. We have truly loved putting it together and playing with and can not wait to get the catapult put together. This is a great way to study these siege machines and the history they represent. And to help learn the history of these machines a neat booklet is included. There is a section on the history of these machines and then the book is divided up into sections.

First up is the catapult. There is in-depth information about tension, torsion, and how to do experiments using mass vs. distance. There is also a section using math to calculate how far projectiles with fly depending on weight.

The trebuchet is next with much of the same type of information. Except with the trebuchet there is an explanation of levers and gravity. There are also experiments to conduct with the trebuchet and the science behind the force and motion of a trebuchet.

At the back of the book there is a list of Standards that are addressed the material covered as well as an additional resources list.

This is a great addition to the study of history, science, math, and hands-on for your school. It is an amazing product for a great price. Trust me, there are hours and hours of fun to be had with these siege machines.

Wanna get your own kit? Head over to the Pitsco website and order one! While you are there check out the other amazing products they offer. You can contact them, request a catalog, and find out about the company. Be sure to look around and explore all the things the site has to offer.

The Starfish Story

While walking on the beach one day, I saw a Starfish by the shore. And everywhere I looked it seemed, I saw a thousand more. Then what to my surprise appeared? A boy of nine or ten. And as the Starfish washed ashore, he threw them back again. "One Starfish won't make a difference son; You can't change this situation." He stooped and picked up one more Starfish, then looking right at me, "I can make a difference for this one, sir" and returned it to the sea. So I went and gathered all my friends, my brothers and my cousins. We joined in with that little boy and saved Starfish by the dozens. There are still many to be rescued-many "Starfish" on life's shore. And you can make a difference too...by saving just one more. C.C. Milbrandt